GitHub Copilot Not Working in Visual Studio 2022: What to Check

When GitHub Copilot stops working in Visual Studio 2022, the cause is almost always one of four things: a Visual Studio version that is below the minimum required, a sign-in or subscription problem, an extension conflict, or a network restriction. Diagnosing in that order saves time because each step rules out the next. Tools like fenbs help by keeping your task notes and diagnostic findings accessible when the assistant is unavailable, so work does not stop entirely.

This guide walks through each cause, what to check, and how to record what you find so the same problem is easier to fix next time.

Check the Visual Studio version first

GitHub Copilot requires a minimum version of Visual Studio 2022. Go to Help, then About Microsoft Visual Studio, and read the version number. Check GitHub's Copilot documentation↗ (opens in a new tab) for the current minimum. If your version is below the minimum, update Visual Studio through the Visual Studio Installer before troubleshooting anything else.

An update may take a while if VS has not been updated recently. Check for updates from the Visual Studio Installer rather than from within VS itself to get the full update picture. After updating, restart Visual Studio and test Copilot again before moving to the next step.

Check sign-in and subscription status

Copilot requires both a signed-in GitHub account inside Visual Studio and an active Copilot subscription on that account. Open Tools, then GitHub, then Manage GitHub Accounts to see which account is signed in. Then visit your GitHub account settings in a browser and confirm that Copilot is enabled on that account.

A subscription that was canceled, a trial that expired, or a business seat that was removed will all cause Copilot to stop responding without a clear error in the editor. If the subscription is active, try signing out and back in inside Visual Studio. This refreshes the token and resolves authentication expiry issues.

For business plans, confirm with the account administrator that your seat assignment is current. See GitHub Copilot business plans and GitHub Copilot license for how business licensing works.

Check the Copilot extension

Open Extensions, then Manage Extensions in Visual Studio. Find the GitHub Copilot extension and check that it is enabled and up to date. An outdated extension may work with an older API but fail silently after GitHub updates its backend.

If the extension is current and enabled but Copilot still does not respond, try disabling all other extensions temporarily and testing Copilot again. Some extensions conflict with Copilot's editor hooks. For known extension conflicts, see Copilot instructions not working and GitHub Copilot agent mode not working for related diagnostic steps.

Also check the Output window inside Visual Studio. Select GitHub Copilot from the output source dropdown. Error messages here often identify the specific problem more clearly than the status bar icon does.

Check network and firewall settings

GitHub Copilot makes outbound HTTPS requests to GitHub's servers. If a corporate firewall, proxy, or VPN blocks those requests, Copilot will time out or fail silently. Check with your network team whether copilot-proxy.githubusercontent.com and related GitHub domains are allowed.

If you can reproduce the problem on a home network but not on the corporate network, or vice versa, that points to a network restriction rather than a VS or account issue. Some corporate proxies require Visual Studio to be configured with proxy settings; check Tools, then Options, then Environment, then Proxy Settings.

Recording diagnostic notes while Copilot is unavailable

When Copilot is not working, the temptation is to stop and focus entirely on fixing it. But if the issue takes time to resolve, keeping a record of what you checked, what the error messages said, and what work is waiting helps you and your team stay productive and pick up quickly when Copilot is restored.

How to do this with fenbs

1. Create a free account and add a project for the work you are doing in Visual Studio.
2. Add the current tasks and their status so the project record stays accurate even while Copilot is unavailable.
3. When you hit an issue like this, add a context note recording what you checked, what the errors said, and what the outcome was.
4. Connect your AI assistant over MCP from Integrations. When Copilot is working again, ask it to read the project context before continuing.
5. Record the fix as a lesson in fenbs so the next person who hits the same issue has a starting point.

The checklist above covers the most common causes. If you have worked through all four and Copilot still does not work, check the GitHub Copilot status page↗ (opens in a new tab) for service incidents. An outage on GitHub's side will affect all Visual Studio users and is not something you can fix locally.

If none of the steps above resolve the issue, the next step is to open a support ticket through GitHub's help center with the error messages from the Output window, your Visual Studio version, and the Copilot extension version. Those details speed up the support process significantly. Recording what you tried and what each step showed is useful both for the support ticket and for the next time someone on the team hits the same issue.